Tag
by VioTanequil
Summary: It was a game, really, but it meant more to him, he who had never truly played a game before. It was more than a game. It was a glimpse of freedom, of friendship. And when she took it away, it was a rude shock.


He would not call it play, but 'engaging in the act of' sounded crude, and bore negative connotations. An activity, perhaps. It was not so much pleasurable, but educational. He did not find it 'fun', but the experience taught him much, and he soon found himself coming back for more. And why not? After all, it was not forbidden, both members were of roughly equal status, if a Kuchiki could be compared to any other noble house, and he was learning from every time.

He looked forward to their weekly sessions of tag. Being too young to be entered into the Academy, his days were peppered with ridiculous lessons. They were monotonous and uninteresting, merely reiterating what he already knew, or what he had no interest in learning, and if required, could easily be retrieved from the records. The Kuchiki house was the best source for records of any kind, and the information he needed was easily found within its shelves. He did not require the lessons he was forced to attend.

The sessions of tag were a breath of fresh air to his schedule. Not yet having the glory of a zanpakuto, the Elders refused to allow him to train in physical combat, and as a result, the only form of exercise he was permitted was the training of shunpo. It would make perfect sense then that he devoted much of his energy into shunpo.

He knew that it was unlikely for a youth like himself to ever catch Shihouin-sensei, but that did not prevent him from trying his best. The time after he nearly grabbed onto her shoulder was his most triumphant moment, and he allowed himself a small smile. For the next few weeks, he spent time watching, learning, thinking and strategizing.

He did not try nearly as hard as he had, instead devoting some of his energy to studying the way she moved, the way she reacted to situations. And then he thought about it. He pondered her movements, wondering and attempting to predict where she would go. He never figured it out correctly, but it had certainly forced him to think faster, to react faster.

He still could not catch her, but the time she took to catch him was gradually increasing. Instead of working to catch her, he put his mind to work trying to evade her. And he found that it was easier than trying to catch her. She had too many tricks up her sleeves, too many sly moves to get out of his grasp.

He stood near the entrance to the Kuchiki gardens, hakama immaculate as always, waiting for Shihouin-sensei to turn up. "Ready, Bya-bo?" A flash of purple hair, amber eyes and a wide smile brushed past him, settling herself down on the branches of a tree opposite the path.

He raised a chiseled eyebrow, a hint of a smile on his lips, before disappearing, launching himself away from her. He had a plan this time. Three steps past the path, four steps after the rock, two more to the tree. Mentally scrapping the plan he had thought up of, he just rushed away from the tree as fast as he could, improvising.

He ducked under the branches, between the leaves, counting to ten before appearing next to the path once more for a split-second to survey the area. The youth disappeared into the trees just before a pair of dark hands reached to close over his shoulder, a look of triumph in his eyes. He heard a tinkling laugh, and immediately spun around to rush towards the sound.

He had been reading up on strategy. He had been thinking. Doing what she least expected him to do would be the best way to escape. She was faster than him, and could go for longer, so it was inevitable that in the end, she would catch him. But if he could use fewer steps and still stay away from her, he would be able to lengthen this.

And he did want to lengthen it. The longer this kept on, the less time he would have to face his tutors and attend his lessons. He was not foolish enough to think that the Elders were allowing him these tag sessions to let him learn more about the art of shunpo. He knew their true motive, and admittedly, could see the logic behind it.

He could see the logic behind it. But he did not agree with it. Shihouin-sensei was his mentor. Nothing more, nothing less. He did not want anything more out of it. Friends? Nah. Kuchiki Byakuya had no friends. And for him, it did not matter much. Of course. He who had never experienced it would never know the pleasures of friendship.

He did not care. All he wanted was the tag sessions. All he wanted was to learn from her. And maybe not only learn from her, but learn from himself as well. He rushed towards the tinkling laugh, dashing past her, grey eyes shining in excitement as they met her shocked amber ones.

He would have allowed himself a smirk, except for the fact that he was Kuchiki Byakuya, and he did not smirk. A small quirk of his lips was it, before he disappeared once more, moving in the direction of the orchard. He hoped that she would take the bait. Over the past few months, he had spent gradually longer amounts of time skirting around the trees.

Sure enough, the hairs on the back of his neck prickled, before he abruptly turned and shot in the opposite direction. Zigzagging around the garden, he crossed the pond quickly, splashing up a little water as he passed. He skirted around the benches and rushed right towards the stone statuettes on the bridge.

His look grew from one of excitement into one of concentration. He knew from his previous escapades that he could pull off this maneuver if he concentrated hard enough. His brow furrowed slightly as he picked up his speed. There was no challenge if it was at a slower speed.

And he could feel her drawing closer to him. The maneuver could be potentially lethal for her, but he knew that she was much better at shunpo than he was, and would have no problem in escaping unscathed. It was not so much something to prove to her that he was good. Perhaps, it was more about proving to himself that he could do it. His steps brought him dashing towards the stone statuette, and he missed the look of shock in the amber eyes behind him.

---

Yoruichi had not expected much from the kid. After all, the midget still did not have a zanpakuto and he was not being trained by anyone except her. Sure, there had been improvements from week to week, but he was not improving as rapidly as she had known him to be capable of doing, and frankly, that was confusing her.

She did not get it. Bya-bo was not one to be lax in his duties, which was what he called their weekly session of tag. Knowing the Elders and the way they had pounded that goddamned sense of pride and responsibility towards your clan shit into his young easily influenced head, it was unlike him to not perform his best.

And it was with the same attitude that she arrived, intending to test him and see how much he had improved from the previous week. Rolling her eyes when he refused to answer her question but instead launched directly into the activity, she immediately gave chase.

He might not be improving as much as she had hoped, but even then, he no lousy runner. She watched him cross the path, skirt around the rock as he had done for the few weeks before. But when she reached out to grab for his ankle in anticipation of when he would scale the tree as he had the previous weeks before, she was surprised to see him rushing away.

Perhaps he had forgotten about his routine? No, that was unlike the kid. She frowned slightly, as she followed after him. When he stopped, for that split-second, she reached out to latch onto his shoulder, but just as she moved to do that, he rushed away.

It was then that it hit her. The sly bastard! He had intentionally deceived her into following his routine. He had intentionally deceived her into thinking that he was not good. She laughed, and rushed after him once more. This was going to be interesting.

A broad grin on her face, she mentally drew a line from herself to his previous position, and rushed off in that direction. She was completely unprepared for him to come barreling towards her, and past her, his normally stoic grey eyes now shining with laughter as they met her shocked amber orbs.

Urgh. So somebody in the Kuchiki household had been feeding the kid with military strategy guidebooks, which would explain his sudden change in behaviour. Either that, or the kid was just that sly and had been deceiving her for months on end. Thinking about it, both options seemed equally plausible. She was going to have to ask him when she caught him them, a grin appearing on her face as she rushed after him, picking up her pace.

Her eyes widened once she saw where he was rushing towards. It was the same stone statuette from which she had saved him when he had been much younger, and now, what in heck did the little bugger think he was doing? Was he blind? Naw, he was definitely not blind. Was he not concentrating? She could not see his face from where she was, but that was unlikely. When had she ever caught Bya-bo not concentrating?

That would mean that either something was really wrong, or that he was trying something new. Not wanting to face the wrath of the Kuchiki Elders, and partially also because she did not want to scrape her young protégé off the marble statuette, she pushed herself faster. There was the possibility that he was trying to do something funny, but it would be best not to entertain that possibility.

---

His eyes narrowed in concentration as he barreled towards the marble, shifting his course slightly such that he was no longer facing the statuette head on, but now at an angle. He would still collide with it, but that would be where his plan came in. He mentally tallied the number of steps left, as measured by the slabs of stone on the bridge. Ten steps. Nine steps. Eight steps. Seven steps. Six steps. He readied himself. Five steps.

He started a mental count. Three. He pushed off with his right foot, leaping lightly into the air. Two. His left leg bent back, getting ready to push against the marble statuette, his right leg bending to his chest, getting ready to push down against the banister. One. Both feet connected with the stone, left with the statuette, and right with the banister as he pushed himself forwards and upwards, clearing the banister, and propelling himself across pond.

He appeared on the other side, breathless but ecstatic, not that anyone would be able to tell. Turning back, he flashed a small smile in Shihouin-sensei's general direction, before rushing on through the garden.

---

Bloody freaking h-e-chopsticks. She watched, rushing towards him, as he changed his course slightly. It was then that she realised that there was no way she could catch him in time. A few more meters would let her do that, but at this distance, nah. There was no chance. She slowed down, considerably, watching with bated breath, and silently praying that he was not going to do something stupid.

It looked like her prayers were for naught. Bya-bo was still shooting towards the marble, and he did not look like he was about to stop. And what in the heck did he think he was doing? Yoruichi began attempting to formulate a reason why she had allowed the Kuchiki heir to end up as a squashed pancake on a marble statuette.

And then gaped in surprise as the kid somehow managed to avoid a collision, propel himself across the pond, and turn back to grin at her. The cheeky bastard! She laughed loudly as she rushed across the bridge after him. She was the faster one, and had it not been for his stunt, on an ordinary day, she would already have caught him.

---

He brushed aside the branches of the trees, leapt over the roots as he flung himself deeper into the orchard. Emerging at the other side, he ducked around a tree trunk and smashed headfirst into her. He blinked, a hand going up to his forehead to check if the kenseikan were alright. They were fine. Shihouin-sensei, on the other hand, seemed to be doubled up in either agony or laughter. He was not too sure which, and as such, merely contented himself with standing up straight and looking at her.

When she seemed to not be showing any signs of stopping, his eyes narrowed slightly in concern, before plucking up courage to speak to her properly for the first time.

"Shihouin-sensei, are you alright?

She straightened up immediately, laughter stopping as she peered back into his concerned, oh right Kuchikis did not show emotions, not-so-concerned face. "Worried about me, Bya-bo?" she teased.

"No," came the stoic answer as he reached up to rub his head, scowling slightly. "My name is Byakuya, not Bya-bo." He scowled.

Yoruichi merely laughed again, brushing off the scowl as if it were nothing. "And how many times do I have to remind you to call me Yoruichi and not Shihouin-sensei? You make me feel old, _Bya-bo_."

"It is improper for me to address you so casually, _Shihouin-sensei_."

"Yare yare. So Bya-kun has a spine beneath all the layers of propriety and properness, eh?"

He glared back at her, and as much as he wanted to retort back, her statement had just reminded him of exactly what he was and was not allowed to do. And retorting someone with a same status but greater age fell under the second category. He wisely kept his mouth shut. At least she was no longer calling him that nickname.

"So, Bya-kun, when did you decide to begin deceiving me?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't try to deny it, kid. I figured it out. All that," here she flopped a hand in a pitiful imitation of him, " 'I don't think I'm good enough, Shihouin-sensei' shit. I knew something was wrong when you started just now."

Byakuya surprised himself. "Only just now?" He raised an eyebrow in challenge, before saying with a smug tone. "I had been planning it since the first time you caught me."

She surprised him by laughing. "You devious scheming thing." She walked over and cuffed him on the shoulder. "Interesting tactics though. I never would have expected it from you. And what in heck was that thing you did with the bridge?" She raised an eyebrow as she awaited an explanation.

"I wanted to try something new." He stared boldly back, daring her to scold him for the danger and whatnot that was associated with what he had just attempted.

She blinked back at him. Whoa. Now, where had the meek kid she had been mentoring disappear to? A small smile graced her face. So his personality had not been completely erased, then. That was a good thing. "Hm," she muttered noncommittally. "Just try not to give me a heart attack the next time."

Byakuya's eyes widened slightly, surprised. He had expected her to get angry. Calming himself down, he raised an amused eyebrow. Heart attack? Shihouin-sensei? He could not picture it.

Yoruichi rolled her eyes. What was with Bya-kun? He seemed to be communicating purely via minimal facial expressions. Oh well. At least he was communicating. A grin came to her face. "It's your turn now. Catch me if you can!" She did not wait for any response, only rushing away immediately.

He dashed after her, trying to predict where she would go, only to fail horribly as he missed for the fourth time. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he barreled after her down the path, in between the trees and over ornamental plants. He watched, surprised as she ducked into the orchard.

Diving in after her, the dimmer light only made it more difficult for him to see her, and sure enough, he soon found him relying on his sense of hearing, as well as some sense that seem to point him in the right direction. It was as if he could sense something else. There was this something else that he could almost feel.

It was like a scent, but not a scent. He was not too sure what it was, and mentally marked it down. He would have to find out what it was when he got back. He dashed through the orchard, taking shortcuts he had discovered in their previous tag sessions. Shihouin-sensei liked to confuse him by leaving fake trails, constantly appearing and disappearing in front of him, taunting him.

He lunged, and missed.

---

In the end, he did not manage to catch her before it was time for her to leave. Slightly frustrated, he had been trying to figure out some form of pattern in her movement. So far, he had not managed to find anything. He did not like being beaten, but despite all his efforts, week after week, month after month, he could not catch her, he could not avoid being caught.

And every week, he caught up with her at the pavilion, just before sundown, she would already be reclining there waiting for him to arrive. "Not bad, Bya-kun. But you still will not be able to catch me." He would scowl, despite knowing that her words were true.

"Ja ne. Same time next week?" He would nod, resisting the urge to ask her to come earlier to rid him of the boredom that was his lessons.

"Thank you for coming, Shihouin-sensei."

"Bya-kun, how many times do I have to tell you, it's Yoruichi-san. Not Shihouin-sensei."

He would stand there, watching as she disappeared down the path, wishing that he had her kind of freedom. She was the weekly breath of fresh air into his monotonous life of lessons. Shihouin-sensei was the first person to open Byakuya's eyes to the world outside, but in opening those eyes, she was closing his heart, because he knew that there were things he was never meant to have, some things that he would never have.

There were times when he wished that he did not have the weekly sessions. Those were the times when he saw the differences between their lives, the Shihouin and the Kuchiki, the mentor and the protégé, the free and the caged. But there were other times as well, times when he was relieved for the little things in life, relieved for the fact that he was allowed to go out and run in the grass, play in the trees, and hid amongst the flowers. So in the end, he continued looking forward to the sessions of tag.

Even after he entered the Gotei 13 as a seated officer, bypassing the Academy as it was for all heirs of noble houses, even after that, they still met weekly at the Kuchiki gardens, their relationship strictly one of mentor and protégé in his eyes, though Yoruichi might have objected, seeing him as a little brother.

Their meetings continued until one time, she stopped coming. The next day, he heard that she had left Soul Society. Even though he lied to himself saying that it did not matter, that he could train his shunpo, his kido, his hakuda by himself, he kept count. Every week, he waited at the pavilion until sundown, before leaving to his rooms. Until he hit five hundred. It was then that he realised that she was not coming back. The protégé was going to have to progress on his own.

And he trained, determined to prove to her that he would be better. That her leaving had absolutely no effect on his abilities, and that he would progress, just as much as he would if she were there. He trained. He no longer waited by the pavilion, he trained in the orchard, ducking in between trees, his kenseikan and windflower scarf placed neatly on a bench to prevent tearing. He had trained. In the thousands of weeks after she had left, and yes, he had kept count, he trained, pushing himself to the limit, running again and again and again.

He was determined to beat her, to best her, though he did not really know why. Perhaps it was to prove to her that he was better off without her guidance? Or perhaps it was for him to prove that to himself? He did not know.

When she had returned, referring to him by his nick-name as though nothing had happened, his eyes had flashed angrily. His eyes had widened when she used the same technique he had used against her, in the Kuchiki gardens so many years ago, to evade him. A slight feeling of triumph mixed with a little regret had struck his heart when he brought Senbonzakura in an upward arc. He had caught her. Or so he had thought, until he saw that it was another one of her techniques.

Perhaps, perhaps he was never meant to catch her.


End file.
